Ashtead Group (LON:AHT) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Ashtead Group plc (LON:AHT) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as GBX 4,583 ($59.07) and last traded at GBX 4,587 ($59.13), with a volume of 5005411 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 4,799 ($61.86).

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AHT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 6,800 ($87.65) target price on shares of Ashtead Group in a research report on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ashtead Group from GBX 6,600 ($85.07) to GBX 7,300 ($94.10) and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Berenberg Bank reiterated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 7,000 ($90.23) price target on shares of Ashtead Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of GBX 6,550 ($84.43).

Ashtead Group Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 146.30. The stock has a market cap of £24.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.97, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of GBX 5,043.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 5,455.24.

Ashtead Group (LON:AHT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported GBX 77.20 ($1.00) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Ashtead Group had a net margin of 14.08% and a return on equity of 21.43%. Equities analysts expect that Ashtead Group plc will post 363.5658915 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashtead Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 9th. Ashtead Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ashtead Group news, insider Brendan Horgan bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 5,320 ($68.57) per share, with a total value of £212,800 ($274,297.50). 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Ashtead Group

Ashtead Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the construction, industrial, and general equipment rental business in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. It provides pumps, power generation, heating, cooling, scaffolding, traffic management, temporary flooring, trench shoring, and lifting services.